Privacy Policy

Who we are

Down Somerset Way is found at http://downsomersetway.co.uk (“Website”) is governed by the following privacy policy (“Privacy Policy”).

I respect your privacy and are committed to protecting it. The purpose of this Privacy Policy is to inform you what personally identifiable information I may collect and how it may be used. This statement only applies to this Website.

Information You Voluntarily Submit to the Website

I may collect personal information from you such as your name or email address. For example, you may voluntarily submit information to the Website by leaving a comment, subscribing to a newsletter, or submitting a contact form.

Automatically-collected Information

We automatically collect certain information about you and the device with which you access the Website. For example, when you use the Website, I will log your IP address, operating system type, browser type, referring website, pages you viewed, and the dates/times when you accessed the Website. I may also collect information about actions you take when using the Website, such as links clicked.

Cookies: I may log information using cookies, which are small data files stored on your browser by the Website. I may use both session cookies, which expire when you close your browser, and persistent cookies, which stay on your browser until deleted, to provide you with a more personalised experience on the Website.

Comments

When visitors leave comments on the site we collect the data shown in the comments form, and also the visitor’s IP address and browser user agent string to help spam detection.

An anonymized string created from your email address (also called a hash) may be provided to the Gravatar service to see if you are using it. The Gravatar service privacy policy is available here: https://automattic.com/privacy/. After approval of your comment, your profile picture is visible to the public in the context of your comment.

Publicy visible information

If you create a user profile on the Website or leave a comment, certain information may be publicly visible.  To create a user profile, you must choose a username and password and input your email address for profile confirmation.  Your email address will never be available publicly.  At your option, you may also add an avatar, a profile description, and a link to your website.

You may also choose to link your Facebook, Instagram, and Google Account.

Users may see your username, avatar, profile description and website information.

Cookies

I may log information using cookies, which are small data files stored on your browser by the Website. I may use both session cookies, which expire when you close your browser, and persistent cookies, which stay on your browser until deleted, to provide you with a more personalised experience on the Website.

If you leave a comment on my site you may opt-in to saving your name, email address and website in cookies. These are for your convenience so that you do not have to fill in your details again when you leave another comment. These cookies will last for one year.

The Website uses cookies to store visitors’ preferences, record user-specific information on what pages users access or visit, ensure that visitors are not repeatedly sent the same banner ads, customise Website content based on visitors’ browser type or other information that the visitor sends. Cookies may also be used by third-party services, such as Google Analytics, as described herein.

Users may, at any time, prevent the setting of cookies, by the Website, by using a corresponding setting of your internet browser and may thus permanently deny the setting of cookies. Furthermore, already set cookies may be deleted at any time via an Internet browser or other software programs. This is possible in all popular Internet browsers. However, if users deactivate the setting of cookies in your Internet browser, not all functions of our Website may be entirely usable.

Embedded content from other websites

Articles on this site may include embedded content (e.g. videos, images, articles, etc.). Embedded content from other websites behaves in the exact same way as if the visitor has visited the other website.

These websites may collect data about you, use cookies, embed additional third-party tracking, and monitor your interaction with that embedded content, including tracking your interaction with the embedded content if you have an account and are logged in to that website.

My website may contain links to other websites of interest. However, once you have used these links to leave our site, you should note that we do not have any control over that other website.

Therefore, we cannot be responsible for the protection and privacy of any information which you provide while visiting such sites and such sites are not governed by this privacy policy. You should exercise caution and look at the privacy policy applicable to the website in question.

How your information may be used

I may use the information collected in the following ways:

To operate and maintain the Website;

To create your account, identify you as a user of the Website, and customise the Website for your account;

To send you promotional information, such as newsletters. Each email promotion will provide information on how to opt-out of future mailings;

To send you administrative communications, such as administrative emails, confirmation emails, technical notices, updates on policies, or security alerts;

To respond to your comments or inquiries;

To provide you with user support;

To track and measure advertising on the Website;

To protect, investigate, and deter against unauthorised or illegal activity.

How long I retain your data

If you leave a comment, the comment and its metadata are retained indefinitely. This is so I can recognise and approve any follow-up comments automatically instead of holding them in a moderation queue.

Where I send your data

Visitor comments may be checked through an automated spam detection service.

Third party use of personal information

I may share your information with third parties when you explicitly authorise me to share your information.

Additionally, the Website may use third-party service providers to service various aspects of the Website. Each third-party service provider’s use of your personal information is dictated by their respective privacy policies.

The Website currently uses the following third-party service providers:

Google Analytics – this service tracks Website usage and provides information such as referring websites and user actions on the Website. Google Analytics may capture your IP address, but no other personal information is captured by Google Analytics.

Google will use your personal data when you give consent on my site e.g. see Google’s Privacy & Terms site for details.

You can opt-out of Google Analytics for Display Advertising and customise Google Display Network ads using the Google Ad settings or through the Google Analytics opt-out browser add-on.

Mail Chimp – this service is used for delivery of email updates and newsletters. I store your name and email address for purposes of delivering such communications.  Please refer to Mail Chimp’s privacy policy for further information.

At this time, your personal information is not shared with any other third-party applications. This list may be amended from time to time in the Website’s sole discretion.

Except when required by law, I will not sell, distribute, or reveal your email addresses or other personal information without your consent; however, I may disclose or transfer personal information collected through the Website to third parties who acquire all or a portion of our business, which may be the result of a merger, consolidation, or purchase of all or a portion of our assets, or in connection with any bankruptcy or reorganisation proceeding brought by or against us.

Anonymous data

From time to time, I may use anonymous data, which does not identify you alone, or when combined with data from other parties. This type of anonymous data may be provided to other parties for marketing, advertising, or other uses. Examples of this anonymous data may include analytics or information collected from cookies.

Affiliate Program Participation

The Website may engage in affiliate marketing, which is done by embedding tracking links into the Website. If you click on a link for an affiliate partnership, a cookie will be placed on your browser to track any sales for purposes of commissions.

Some posts on this site contain affiliate links. If you book or buy something through these links, this website may earn a small commission (at no extra cost to you).

Down Somerset Way is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and links to Amazon.com.  As part of this Amazon Associates program, the Website will post customised links, provided by Amazon, to track the referrals to their website. This program utilises cookies to track visits for the purposes of assigning commission on these sales.

Newsletters

On the Website, you may subscribe to the newsletter, which may be used for advertising purposes. The newsletters sent may contain tracking pixels. The pixel is embedded in emails and allows an analysis of the success of online marketing campaigns. Because of these tracking pixels, I may see if and when you open an email and which links within the email you click. Also, this allows the Website to adapt the content of future newsletters to the interests of the user. This behaviour will not be passed on to third parties.

Opt-out – You may opt-out of future email communications by following the unsubscribe links in our emails. You may also notify me at monica@thetravelhack.com to be removed from our mailing list.

Access – You may access the personal information I have about you by submitting a request me at hello@downsomersetway.co.uk

Amend – You may contact me at hello@downsomersetway.co.uk to amend or update your personal information.

Forget – In certain situations, you may request that I erase or forget your personal data. To do so, please submit a request at hello@downsomersetway.co.uk

Please note that I may need to retain certain information for record keeping purposes or to complete transactions, or when required by law.

Sensitive personal information

At no time should you submit sensitive personal information to the Website. If you elect to submit such information to us, it will be subject to this Privacy Policy.

Giveaways

The only time any details are passed on are if you are the winner of a giveaway hosted on this blog, and your permission will be asked for before this happens. Permission will be requested via email and your details will be received and passed on via email, only to the brand for which Down Somerset Way is hosting the giveaway.

Once a period of one month has elapsed, your details and giveaway email notifications will be deleted from my email account. Down Somerset Way is not responsible for your details held by the brand once they have been passed on. You may also request your details to be removed from the competition widget within the blog post which you entered through.

Terms & Conditions

The reading of all information on Down Somerset Way is of your own free will. If you do not accept these Terms & Conditions or Privacy Policy, you should cease use of this website immediately.

All content provided on this blog is for information purposes only. The owner of this blog makes no representations as to the accuracy or completeness of any information on this site or found by following any link on this site. 

The owner will not be liable for any errors or omissions in this information nor for the availability of this information. The owner will not be liable for any losses, injuries, or damages from the display or use of this information. We are not responsible for the republishing of the content found on this blog on other web sites or media without our permission. All opinions are those of the author alone.

Contact information

At any time, please contact me at hello@downsomersetway with any questions related to this Privacy Policy.

Last updated 23 February 2023.